Clan Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Lowland
In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...
armigerous
Armigerous clan
An armigerous clan is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognized as such by Lyon Court...
Scottish clan
Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
. There are several variations of the Kirkpatrick name; Kilpatric, Kilpatrick, and Gilpatrick. The names Kilpatrick and Kirkpatrick may have been interchangeable at one time. The clan is recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon
Court of the Lord Lyon
The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of...
, however the clan does not currently have a chief
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
so recognised. The clan takes its name from the church of Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
in the parish of Closeburn
Closeburn, Dumfries and Galloway
Closeburn is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The village is on the A76 road south of Thornhill. In the 2001 census, Closeburn had a population of 1,119,...
in Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The first record of the clan is in the 12th century, when Ivone de Kirkpatrick was listed as a witness in a charter of the Bruce family
Clan Bruce
Clan Bruce is a Scottish clan from Kincardine in Scotland. It was a Royal House in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland.-Origins of the Clan:...
. Later, Alexander II
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
confirmed by charter the lands of the same Ivone. Roger de Kilpatrick/Kirkpatrick was an attendant to Robert Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
during the time when Bruce murdered Red Comyn. Kilpatrick legend has it that the chiefly motto is derived from Bruce's killing of Sir John Comyn. Upon meeting Comyn in the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries, Bruce confronted Comyn with accusations of his treachery. A scuffle broke out; during which Bruce stabbed Comyn with his dagger. Horrified, Bruce fled from the church to his escorts and told them, "I doubt I have slain Comyn." Kilpatrick cried, "You doubt? I'll mak siccar!" ("I'll make sure"), whereupon he rushed the church and finished off the wounded Comyn. Sir Roger Kilpatrick hid with Robert Bruce for three nights to escape retribution from Comyn's family. This event is memorialized in the clan's crest, which contains a hand holding a bloody dagger; and the shield: three pillows on a saltire
Saltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
shield with the Scotland colours, or the St Andrews Cross, reversed (i.e. Kilpatrick wears a blue saltire on a white ground). It is also memorialized in the Clan's motto, "I make sure." The family was later pardoned by the Pope for their part in Comyn's death, who reasoned that Bruce's blow against Comyn was likely mortal.
In 1246, during the reign of Alexander II, a Humphrey de Kilpatrick obtained a charter of the lands of Colquhoun
Colquhoun
Colquhoun is a surname of Scottish origin. It is a habitational name from the barony of Colquhoun in Dumbartonshire. The name is thought to be derived from the Gaelic elements còil , cùil , or coill + cumhann .-Arts and entertainment:* Christopher Colquhoun, British actor* Ian Colquhoun ,...
from the Earl of Lennox, and that Humphrey's son Ingram was the first to assume the name Colquhoun
Clan Colquhoun
Clan Colquhoun is a Highland Scottish clan.The clan motto shown above in the crest best translates to "if I can."-Origins of the clan:In the 13th century Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox granted the lands of Colquhoun, located in Dunbartonshire, to Humphry de Kilpatrick...
. It may be remarked that both Humphrey and Ivan are popular names with Colquhouns, and that a Humphrey de Kilpatrick appears in charters relating to the Lennox
Lennox
Lennox may refer to:* Lennox , often referred to as "The Lennox", an historic mormaerdom, earldom and then dukedom, in Stirling, Scotland* Lennox International, a global manufacturer of furnaces and central air conditioners....
, and others relating to Dumfries-shire - all of similar date. Geographically, the name 'Kilpatrick' is now most closely associated with the Lennox
Lennox
Lennox may refer to:* Lennox , often referred to as "The Lennox", an historic mormaerdom, earldom and then dukedom, in Stirling, Scotland* Lennox International, a global manufacturer of furnaces and central air conditioners....
, while places named 'Kirkpatrick' are largely confined to Dumfries-shire, and it is quite probable that many who now bear the name had origin in these places, and may or may not have links, other than the 'kinship of a name', with the family who held Closeburn. This family gave rise to many cadet families in and around their home county. At the end of the 18th century William Kirkpatrick of Conheath became a wine merchant in Malaga and married Dona Francesca, daughter of Baron de Grivegnee. Their daughter, Eugénie de Montijo
Eugénie de Montijo
Doña María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox-Portocarrero de Guzmán y Kirkpatrick, 16th Countess of Teba and 15th Marquise of Ardales; 5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920), known as Eugénie de Montijo , was the last Empress consort of the French from 1853 to 1871 as the wife of Napoleon III, Emperor of...
, married Emperor Napoleon III and became last Empress of France.
In 1314 the Kirkpatricks were rewarded the lands of Redburgh. In 1355, Sir Roger Kilpatrick took Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle
Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle, built in the 13th century, in the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve area at the Solway Firth, south of Dumfries in the southwest of Scotland. In the Middle Ages it was owned by the Maxwell family. Today, the castle is in the care of Historic...
and Dalwinston Castle from English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
forces. Two years later, in 1357, Sir Roger Kilpatrick was murdered by Sir James Lindsay in a private argument. The title passed from Roger to his Nephew, Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, who had a charter for the lands of Closeburn and Redburgh from Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany
Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany , a member of the Scottish royal house, served as Regent to three different Scottish monarchs...
in 1409. Much later, in 1542, Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick was captured at the Battle of Solway Moss
Battle of Solway Moss
The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish Border in November 1542 between forces from England and Scotland.-Background:...
. The estate then passed to a cousin. In 1685 Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburn was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. The Kirkpatrick estate of Closeburn was finally sold by the 4th baronet, Sir James Kirkpatrick. Today there is no recognized chief of the clan.
See also
- Closeburn CastleCloseburn CastleCloseburn Castle is a tower house, probably of the 14th century, but possibly older, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited houses in Scotland...
, former stronghold and seat of the chiefs of the clan - Kirkpatrick BaronetsKirkpatrick BaronetsThe Kirkpatrick Baronetcy, of Closeburn in the County of Dumfries, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 26 March 1685 for Thomas Kirkpatrick, with remainder to heirs male whatsoever...
- Colquhoun BaronetsColquhoun BaronetsThere have been two Baronetcies created for members of the Colquhoun family, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain...
- Armigerous clanArmigerous clanAn armigerous clan is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognized as such by Lyon Court...